Consistency in word and character

I expect we all know someone who doesn't quite live up to the the words they express. It might be someone who tells people they should live in a certain way, but don't live that way themselves - like people who urge others to be generous but never share anything from their own pocket.  

But that's not exactly what I have in mind. 

This morning in my Bible reading I was struck by this phrase

They claim to know God but by their actions they deny him. (Titus 1:16)

While I would like to think such things don't still happen, the last twenty years has made it abundantly clear that this comment is as relevant in my lifetime as it was when it was first written near 2,000 years ago. 

I have two groups in mind. The first is the prosperity preachers who assure their followers that wealth and health will be theirs if they give more. Such selfishness is staggering, but even more staggering is the way people continue to support what they do. 

The second group is even more diabolical. Here I think of those who take positions of leadership within a church and abuse that privilege. When you are a leader in a church, there would be an assumption that you 'claim to know God'. However, when those same leaders use their position to abuse others, either sexually or financially, then it is true that 'by their actions they deny him'. 

No wonder so many people think the church is a scam and that priests and other leaders are on the take. No doubt their judgement will come, and I pray it comes soon. 

If you claim to know God, don't let your actions undo what you say. 

The church needs consistency in teaching and action; in word and deed. 

Lord, keep me faithful. 

A reminder to find our hope in God alone

 This morning I read a post titled Are We Wasting the COVID Crisis? by Steve McAlpine. It is a lengthy and helpful article that confronts church leaders to consider what life might be like in the future for churches in Australia. McAlpine sounds a warning for us to consider - that the measures used against all groups in society during the pandemic might become the norm for churches in the future. 

While that sounds melodramatic, there might well be truth behind it. In my life in ministry, I have seen opportunities for Christian witness that were once considered normal now become extinct. Some ladies in our church who were nurses talked about receiving a small, white New Testament in their training. I remember all year 7 students receiving a small New Testament in their first year at a state high school. In more recent times, some local government Councils have worked to stop land being avaliable for any new churches to be built in their jurisdiction. Churches are no longer welcomed to teach Christian values and stories in state schools, and Chaplains are no longer seen as necessary in hospitals. 

Oh, what a difference those chaplains could have been in this crisis time. But that's another story. 

Read the article. It's worth your time. 

This morning I also read Psalm 62, and couldn't help but see the connection between these two pieces of writing that are separated by thousands of years.

The Psalm writer, King David, begins by focussing his hope on God alone as his source of rest, salvation, and strength. And in verses 3-4, there is a phrase which seems to describe the attitude of Western society to the church as a whole

How long will you assault me?
Would all of you throw me down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?
Surely they intend to topple me
from my lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse. Psalms 62:3-4

The Christian Church has been a part of Australia as long as white people have been a part of Australia. Has the church caused some problems? Absolutely. Should the church suffer for that? Of course. Is the church the cause for all the social problems in our country? Not at all. In fact, as you probably know, the church in various forms has done - and continues to do - a lot of work to alleviate the problems in society at all levels.

I'm not going to offer any commentary on what we can do. McAlpine does that much better than I could. Let's be wise in our actions. Let's be careful in our planning. Let's consider a world where church practices are not only unwelcome, but consistently undermined by people who don't know what the church is actually doing. 

And let's put our trust in the One who actually matters; the One who can actually help us when we are tottering or toppled. 

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
 My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge. Psalms 62:5-8

"Mission Drift" - Book Review

When a book has a chapter titled "The Tale of two Presbyterian Ministers", it seems like a book that should have something to say to me as a Presbyterian minister. And it does! Peter Greer and Chris Horst have put together a book that is as eye-opening and challenging as any good book on leadership should be. But this one is even better.

"Mission Drift" shows what is likely to happen to all faith-based organisations if they are not careful, and the clue is in the title. They will start well, but will eventually drift to become something they were not created to be, and what gets lost is their gospel focus - the very thing that drove the mission in the first place.

The chapter about the Presbyterian ministers tells the story of China's Children's Fund,  and Compassion International. Dr J. Calvitt Clarke created China's Children's Fund in 1938 after seeing the poverty that was affecting Chinese children. The ministry expanded and changed it's name to better reflect it's identity to Christian Children's Fund. Sixty years later a former board member could say "This organisation has nothing to do with Christianity." In 2009 its name was changed to  ChildFund International.

(Interestingly, if you look at https://www.childfund.org.au/about-us/#our-history you'll see that Dr Clarke is described as "an American humanitarian". His faith has been airbrushed out of the history of the very organisation he founded.)

Compassion International began with a different Presbyterian minister, Everett Swanson, seeing the impact on orphans of the Korean War in the 1950's. Since that time, the organisation has remained true to the spiritual principles that were the very foundation.

(Coincidentally, this morning I shared a coffee with one of the blokes from Compassion Australia, and it was good to hear him speak about the truth of this.)

So, here are two organisations with a similar purpose coming from similar backgrounds, but now present a very different message. This is not to say that ChildFund are doing a bad job. Please don't misunderstand e. But it does show that organisations can - or will - move away from their prime mission unless they work hard to keep it central.

In my ministry now as a pastor at the Heathmont Presbyterian Church, I am feeling the importance of keeping on the main mission, and not being distracted by all the things that are good and worthwhile, but which will take me away from the main task - to love God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love my neighbour as myself. If I do this, then I will also take seriously the call of Jesus to 'go into the world to make disciples' - followers of Jesus.

If you are looking for a book on leadership that is much more than goal setting and list making, you'll enjoy this. But don't think it will be a comfortable read. It won't be.

But it will be worth it.

Nothing happens as planned

This morning I read this -

Nothing happens as planned. Or in the words of an ancient sage, "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." So, prepare, prophesy, hold on to your seat, and play to your strengths as you delight in the sandbox life of Ludens Dei ("God at play").

"Nothing happens as planned"
Many times I have reached a point in the day when I have said, "What's the point of making a plan? It never works out." I expect I haven't said that for the final time yet.

But as I read this above paragraph this morning, I was struck by that Bible quote in a new way. Maybe, instead of complaining that my plans have gone awry again, I could take hold of this Biblical statement and ask myself, "Where is the Lord leading me today?"And having answered that question, to go where the Lord is leading rather than determining my own plan.

After all, if the Lord is truly directing my steps, it will be for a far greater purpose than anything I had planned.

(The quote come from The Well Played Life by Leonard Sweet.)

The Final Week of Jesus - Oh no it's not.

The Final Week – Sunday

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’” Mark 16:6-7

When an angelic figure turns up in the Bible, the first thing that is said is “Do not be alarmed”. That says something about those angels and just how different they are to the cute picture we might have in our minds. But this time it is particularly important. 

These women have spent yesterday (probably) with the rest of the disciples fearful of what might happen to them. The day and night will have been restless worrying about every footstep they didn’t recognise and every voice they didn’t know. 

Today, they have risen early to go to the tomb of Jesus so they can do for him what they could not do before he was buried.  They have prepared themselves for what they will find. 

Well, that’s not true at all. They have prepared themselves for what they expect they will find. “Who will roll the stone away?” is the question they ask themselves as they walk to the tomb. What they do find is that the stone has already been rolled away, Jesus missing, and an angelic young man telling them “He has risen! He is not here.” And their life changed dramatically.  

If these women thought they had good news to share about Jesus a few weeks earlier, that’s nothing compared to the good news they – and you – have now. 

The Final Week of Jesus - Saturday

Final Week – Saturday

If I try to stick to the Gospel of Mark, then I can’t quote a passage of scripture. Mark is silent about the Saturday, and that’s probably right. Because if I put my imagination into action, then I start to think about how the disciples felt on that day, and at that point I don’t really want to think any more.

You see, for those who loved Jesus, that day must have been a day of absolute despair. Around them the city of Jerusalem is crowded with people celebrating Passover. For those people this is a time of great celebration and joy as they recall the promises of God and the exodus from Egypt. 

But somewhere in that city, there is a group of people who are probably sitting together because they’re scared about going out and suffering the same fate as Jesus, but also because their hearts are broken. The man they loved, the man they had pinned their hopes on was gone now.

Whatever you pin your hopes on will disappoint you at some point. But at the worst moment, it might be that the greatest things are happening. While these friends of Jesus couldn’t see it, something far greater than they could ever imagine was happening. 

Today, everything is bleak. Today, the sun might be shining but all I see is clouds. Today, the wind is still but all I hear is storm. Today . . .

Will the sun come up tomorrow?

The Final Week of Jesus - Friday

The Final Week – Friday

³⁷ With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
³⁸ The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God! 

Mark 15:37-39

Many people made their decisions about who Jesus was after seeing how he lived and how he acted. Peter concluded he was the Messiah. Pilate decided he was innocent. This man, this Roman soldier, concluded that he was the Son of God by watching Jesus die. 

I find it hard to imagine that this could be so, but consider this. Crucifixion is a terrible way to die, but it was also reasonably common for Romans to inflict this on people. This man would have likely seen many people die this way. He is now a Centurion, so he might have been involved in a number of crucifixions over his years of service. 

It can take days for someone to die by being crucified, and any final sound would be a whimper.

Now picture what he is seeing. He stands before three crosses, one of which holds a sign saying, “The King of the Jews”. Darkness comes across the land for three hours in the middle of the day – an unearthly and unexplained darkness. And in the midst of all of this, Jesus dies not with a whimper but with a loud cry. 

There was something very different about this death and it was enough to make this man to conclude 

“Surely this man was the Son of God.”

What makes you conclude that Jesus is the Son of God.